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Letters to the Editor

Will riots elsewhere set tone for Bikefest in Myrtle Beach?

By Rick Gutierrez
Demonstrators march past a store damaged in the riot following Freddie Gray's funeral, Saturday, May 2, 2015, in Baltimore. Chants of "no justice, no peace, no racist police" echoed through the streets of Baltimore during the march that organizers billed as a "victory rally" a day after a prosecutor charged six officers involved in the arrest of a man who died in police custody. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Demonstrators march past a store damaged in the riot following Freddie Gray's funeral, Saturday, May 2, 2015, in Baltimore. Chants of "no justice, no peace, no racist police" echoed through the streets of Baltimore during the march that organizers billed as a "victory rally" a day after a prosecutor charged six officers involved in the arrest of a man who died in police custody. (AP Photo/David Goldman) David Goldman AP

It is amazing to me to see the looting and rioting that we have witnessed in Ferguson, Mo., Los Angeles, New York and now Baltimore. I saw a picture in The Sun News that showed a liquor store/bar owner completely wiped out by looters. Also in the picture was a stolen ATM machine.

None of these things had anything to do with the death of Freddie Grey. So why do do this? What point are they doing to prove. Freddie Grey was no saint, he sold drugs as well as possessed them. Was wanted by the police, he didn't have to die, he could have just gone with the police peacefully. All would have ended with no problems. Freddie Grey caused all this and yet we blame the police, the neighbors and the businesses.

They go on a mindless rampage with no respect for the law, property or future of the community. Looting is a crime and you are subject to being shot if you are caught doing it. They accomplished absolutely nothing. This is not a racial thing, it happens with college kids after a big win or a national championship. It happens with the Latinos, the Asians as well.

Now Myrtle Beach is just two weeks from Bikefest. They are coming here with the Ferguson, Madison and New York chips on their shoulders and now we have Baltimore to add to the fire. The city does not stand a chance of getting this to go smoothly. There will be looting or just shoplifting everywhere and will dare you to stop them.

The police will only watch; one step in the wrong direction and the riot is on. The 23-mile loop is a joke. They will ignore the barricades as they do the law and property. I hope I am so wrong, but we will have to see. Come to Garden City and Murrells Inlet and watch how a motorcycle rally is suppose to go. Clean, decent people out to have a good time a show off their bikes and respect the law and property of others.

Black people should unite and go after the thugs and hoodlums that infect their neighborhoods. Fixing this problem is not an external issue to be solved by others; it must be solved by the ones who want crime eliminated from their neighborhoods.

The writer lives in Garden City.

This story was originally published May 9, 2015 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Will riots elsewhere set tone for Bikefest in Myrtle Beach?."

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